In the days following the catastrophic
earthquake that struck Ecuador
on 16 April, checkout lines at the
supermarkets were exceptionally long.
Ordinary Ecuadorians from all walks
of life came together to buy food,
drinking water and other essential
supplies for the victims. It was the
country’s worst natural disaster in 70
years, which left as many as 1,000 dead,
over 10,000 homeless, and caused over
$3 billion worth of damage.

The earthquake happened just as
the country was entering a recession
– global oil prices have reached a new
low and the government has already
had to cut public spending, especially
in investment projects. Despite the
poor economic outlook, President
Rafael Correa remains the country’s
most popular politician.

The reason for Correa’s popularity,
especially among the country’s poor,
is simple. Since his election in 2006
poverty rates have nearly halved,
from 45 to 25 per cent and inequality
has decreased significantly. Along
with higher taxation of the wealthy,
there has been increased spending
on housing subsidies, cash transfers
for the poor, and a doubling of
investment in public education. Also,
infrastructure throughout the country
has visibly improved, with numerous
new highways, universities and public
transportation upgrades.

A TV crew documents the effects of the earthquake in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil

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Correa has also brought a measure
of political stability. Between 1996
and 2007 Ecuador went through eight
presidents and two severe political and
economic crises. By the time Correa
leaves the presidency in 2017, he will
have governed for 10 years, longer
than any president since Eloy Alfaro,
one of the nation’s founding fathers,
who left office in 1911.

One area where the government
has faced problems recently is in its
relationship with social movements.
A significant segment of the fractious
indigenous movement, several smaller
leftist parties, environmental groups,
and a sector of the union movement
have criticized the President for going
back on a variety of progressive policy
promises and for governing in an
authoritarian manner. They say he has
failed to move away from ‘extractivism’
and oil dependency, from vigorously
protecting the environment, and
from including social movements in
the development of his policies. The
most important of these groups is the
indigenous movement, which, despite its
internal divisions, can claim to represent
up to 10 per cent of the population.

The country is extremely dependent
on oil. Approximately half of Ecuador’s
export revenue comes from oil exports
and, at times, depending on the price of
oil, this provides a quarter of the state’s
budget. Despite the 2008
global economic crisis, Ecuador was
able to maintain robust average annual
GDP growth of over four per cent
between 2000 and 2012. Nevertheless,
the fact that the country adopted the
US dollar as its currency following the
economic resession of 2000 hampers
economic policy significantly.

Although Ecuador is a welcoming
country for foreigners, some also
consider it to be rather conservative
and closed. Abortion, for example,
is illegal in almost all circumstances.
Also, subservient class-based attitudes
are still prevalent. Yet the country can
boast that it included the indigenous
concept of buen vivir (good living)
in its 2008 constitution and thereby
contributed to the international
discussion about how to achieve a
non-consumerist and ecologically
sound society.

Ecuador’s diverse landscape –
including the Amazon, beautiful
beaches, mountain forests, the
Galapagos Islands and spectacular
volcanoes – as well as its diverse
population and politics, make for
a country that is never less than
interesting. Now that conservative
forces in Latin America are attempting
to roll back the region’s so-called ‘pink
tide’, their next target will probably be
Ecuador and it will no doubt become
even more interesting.

Fact file

Leader

President Rafael Correa Delgado.

Economy

GNI per capita $6,090 (Peru $6,360, United States $55,230). Ecuador defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2008 and has subsequently terminated bilateral investment treaties, including one with the US. Correa has turned to China instead: in December 2013 he agreed a deal with Beijing covering $9.9 billion in advance oil sales and budget support. The country remains unhealthily dependent on oil, especially with international prices so low.

Ecuador has
more biodiversity per square
kilometre than any other country
in the world. It is also the only nation
whose constitution recognizes that nature
has a right to exist and flourish. In 2007 the
Correa government presented the Yasuní-
ITT initiative, for international funding to
protect an important part of the Amazon
from oil exploitation. The initiative failed,
though, and oil exploration began in the
Yasuní national park in 2016.

Spanish is the official language,
with Quechua the most widely spoken
of the indigenous languages. Along with
Shuar, Quechua is designated an ‘official
language of intercultural relations’.

Human Development Index

0.711, 98th of 188 countries (Peru 0.737, US 0.914).

Country ratings in detail

Income distribution

Inequality and poverty have declined
significantly in the past 10 years. The
country still has a long way to go,
though.

Literacy

At 94.5%, literacy is generally high,
but rates are still far lower among the
indigenous population.

Life expectancy

76 years (Peru 75, US 79).

Freedom

Freedom of expression, assembly
and association are completely
guaranteed. However, defamation
of government officials can still lead
to charges, just as in many other
countries around the world.

Position of women

The status of women has been
improving steadily since the 1990s.
However, abortion remains illegal.

Sexual minorities

In 2016 Ecuador recently granted
legal status to civil unions for samesex
couples. Discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation is illegal.
The LGBT movement is active and
organizes annual Gay Pride marches
throughout the country.

New Internationalist assessment

The election of Correa in 2006
represented an important
turnaround for Ecuador. The
country’s politics are far more stable,
corruption and crime are far lower,
state institutions more efficient, and
political participation is vibrant in all
sectors. He remains a key focus for
regional Latin American opposition
to neoliberalism – the Union of
South American Nations has based
its HQ in Quito. The President,
though, can be verbally quite harsh
towards his critics, whether from the
left or the right.

This article is from
the June 2016 issue
of New Internationalist.
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Gregory Wilpert is author of Changing Venezuela by Taking Power: The History and Policies of the Chávez Government (Verso Books, 2007), co-founder of Venezuelanalysis.com, and currently Senior Producer at The Real News Network.